Have you ever truly been alone? Being swallowed up by that black nothingness is not as lovely as it sounds. There are times when we all happily retreat to the emptyness of loneliness in an attempt to reconfigure; redefine.

But that is loneliness by choice.

Think of the child: home alone, ill, with no one to care for them. Maybe both parents work just to survive. Maybe there is only Dad who can’t leave work because that means no groceries that week. Maybe there is only Mum who can’t leave because that means her job will go to someone else. Maybe there is no one. Mum and Dad may physically be there but perhaps they don’t have the tools to offer comfort and solace.

The loneliness can persist and haunt the child all through life. As a teen, a young adult, an adult, middle-aged, senior.

When you are lonely because it has been thrust upon you it is a terrifying gaping darkness that threatens to swallow you whole.

I hope that if you find yourself in this deep dark pit of despair that you are able to climb out: that you are able to cry for help and strong enough to accept that help.